Main content

Tracey Emin on Louise Bourgeois

Tracey Emin offers an insight into the life and work of one of the great artists of the last century, Louise Bourgeois, famed for her giant spider sculpture at Tate Modern.

With some of Louise Bourgeois' greatest works currently on display in two new exhibitions in Edinburgh, Tracey Emin offers a uniquely personal insight into the life and work of one of the most pioneering and influential artists of the last century.

Louise Bourgeois came to prominence in the UK with her giant spider sculpture at Tate Modern. Her art was confessional and intensely personal and was a great inspiration to leading British artist Tracey Emin.

Emin became a close friend of Louise Bourgeois and in the last years of Bourgeois' life the two artists, separated in age by half a century, began a creative collaboration that resulted in a series of remarkable prints, completed just months before Bourgeois died, aged 98, in 2010.

According to Emin: "She could master her materials so well, whether it was a tiny piece of work on fabric, a delicate print or giant monumental sculptures... I think Louise was one of the greatest artists of the last two centuries."

Taking us on a personal tour of Bourgeois' work at The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, Tracey Emin discusses Bourgeois' art, their friendship and the experience of working with the great artist: "I felt like I was holding the baton of time, of history, and that Louise was helping me through to the next stage of my life".

30 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Tracey Emin
Executive Producer Richard Bright
Producer Ben Harding
Director Ben Harding

Broadcasts